TransCanada Corp. is preparing to begin construction in spring 2008 on the 1845mi US portion of its Keystone oil pipeline project, which will transport oil from Canada to the US Midwest. Keystone will total 3456km, including additions to existing Canadian pipelines and mainline flow reversals. It is expected to start up in late 2009 with the capacity to deliver 435,000b/d of crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to the US at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois. The company has been conditionally awarded about USD 3 billion for major materials and pipeline construction contractors and is continuing to secure land access agreements. TransCanada intends to apply to Canada’s National Energy Board in November for additional pumping facilities to expand Keystone’s capacity to 590,000b/d and extend the line to Cushing, Oklahoma, starting in 2010. Based on the increased size and scope of the project and the executed material and service construction contracts, the Keystone project cost is now estimated at USD 5.2 billion.